Dec. weather hardly normal

Local temperatures, rainfall and snowfall were all above normal in December, according to Marietta weather watcher Charlie Worsham.

“We’ve already had more snow than during all of last winter,” he said. “We had 2.8 inches of snow last January to March, and this winter we’ve had 3.7 inches in December alone.”

Most of last month’s snow-2.3 inches-fell on Saturday.

Worsham said 3.7 inches of snow in one month is not unusual.

“That’s really not abnormal. In 2010 we had 7 inches of snow in December,” he said. “The record snowfall was 33.3 inches in 1994, and on the 19th of that same month the record low temperature was set at 23 below zero. Prior to that the record cold was 22 below on Feb. 22, 1899.”

The actual average low temperature for December was 33.1 degrees, a full 6.1 degrees above the normal average low of 27 degrees.

Rainfall was also up for the month of December, Worsham said.

“A new record for local rainfall was set on Dec. 7 at 1.15 inches,” he said. “The old record set in 1957 was 0.84 inches.”

Another record rainfall was broken on Dec. 26. Worsham said rain that day totaled 1.06 inches, beating the former record of 1.03 inches logged in 1957.

“The record total rainfall for December was set in 1990 when there was 7.94 inches of precipitation,” he said. “Last month’s total 6.58 inches was the most rain we’ve had since then.”

The new year is starting off cold, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston, W.Va.

NWS forecaster Nick Webb said there’s not much snow expected over the next week, but the temps are going down.

“Temperatures will be below normal for the next several days-especially at night, but the overnight lows will depend on how much cloud cover we get,” he said. “Cloud cover tends to keep the temperatures upward.”

The overnight lows tonight through Saturday will hover around 16 degrees, according to the latest NWS forecast.

“The next chance of precipitation is maybe some flurries Thursday night, but there’s no major precip expected over the next week,” Webb said.

Worsham said that’s good news as he plans to celebrate his 63rd birthday Thursday.